Zon-Kuthon
The deity Zon-Kuthon (pronounced ZONN-koo-THON)1 possesses one of the most twisted and evil minds in the Great Beyond. His position as god of pain is well earned, and he has been the root of countless tortures, murders, and worse throughout time. Appearance As Dou-Bral, Zon-Kuthon was known for his beauty, but his body now resembles a work of art only to those like-minded individuals who find pain and torture to be the pinnacles of existence. Although his exact appearance is said to often change, he generally is depicted as pale, gaunt, and often hairless. He is often depicted wearing tight, sexualized leather clothing, exposing his many open wounds and body modifications. His lips have been removed, giving him a bloody, haunting grin, and hooks and piercings contort his face into revolting expressions, enhanced by the crystal which rests in the cavity where his left eye once sat. Atop his scalp, a vertical crown of spikes pulls his skin into a disturbing sunburst, and the back of his skull is completely gone, revealing his brain. His hands end in long, knife-like fingernails.9 His appearance is simplified in most mortal representations of him, showing him as a pale, gaunt human with a single, significant wound. Servants Zon-Kuthon and his followers are more concerned with pain than they are symbols of the faith, but clerics are known to summon shadows and erinyes to do their bidding. His personal divine servitors are the lampadarius kytons, creatures who embrace Zon-Kuthon's love of pain by continuously cutting off parts of their bodies and replacing them with the burning darkness from the Plane of Shadows. Church of Zon-Kuthon There is no centralized church of Zon-Kuthon, and independent churches are content to cause and revel in the pain and misery they are able to inflict upon their corner of Golarion. As an ordered faith, however, each sect has a clearly-defined hierarchy, based on physical power, endurance, willingness and ability to endure pain, and similar elements related to church practices. Worshipers Kuthites run the gamut in their origins and motivations for joining the faith, whether they be evil sadists, demented masochists, or those whose spirits are so wounded that only overwhelming pain distracts them from their sorrows. Others who immerse themselves in spiritual darkness often find themselves drawn to his anthracite embrace. Clergy Clergy tend to take their fervor for pain and agony to higher levels than lay believers, but are also experts at blending in with normal society. Most clergy of Zon-Kuthon are clerics, and the number of blackguards is limited at best. Despite its strict hierarchy, the church has no standardized vestments, although most priests can be identified via their self-mutiliation and love of black leather. Temples & shrines Temples of Zon-Kuthon are, for all intents and purposes, torture chambers, and often function as such even when not in use for religious ceremonies. Because of the unique and often disapproved-of practices that take place in the church, temporary temples in caves or basements are kept fairly simple with decorations and tools brought in especially for services. The tools are often disguised as farming implements, should the secret cult be exposed. In more remote areas, believers might make impromptu shrines in places where violence and pain have occurred. Unholy texts Kuthites are not bookish worshipers, often choosing to experience their faith rather than study it in a text. ; The Umbral Leaves : The tenets of Zon-Kuthon's faith are detailed in this grisly book, written in blood on pages of flayed skin by a mad prophet. Favored animals Gods are often associated with certain animals, either because they possess a quality favored by the god, or because the god's faithful feel a special kinship to them. Zon-Kuthon's favored animals include bats, parasites, ants, and rabid wolves.